Cooking was something I never liked before, because I was never confident that I could make something good enough to eat.  Coming from and Anglo-Indian family, I just about knew how to make some beef curries, coconut rice, chow (veg noodles), cutlets and maybe a fish curry or something like that.  Getting married into a Mudaliar family changed the scene totally.  Suddenly I realised that never knew how to cook anything vegetarian and was totally blank.  I had to start my experiment on a firewood stove for about a week after I got married and then continued on a kerosene stove before I finally switched over to a gas stove.  At that time I had to make something for breakfast and a hurried mixed rice which needed to be packed and taken to work.  

Curd rice was very easy - then lemon rice, tomato rice, followed by tamarind rice. Slowly I learned how to make sambar, rasam, kurma, kara kozambhu, kootu, poriyal etc. etc...... but again, that's it.  Though my in-laws were non-vegetarians, my husband was not a lover of chicken nor any kind of meat, so that left me with cooking only vegetarian most of the time as I would feel lazy to make veg food for him and non-veg food for myself.  Once my kids were old enough to start eating all types of food, they used to enjoy a variety of non-veg stuff at my mum's place as she used to dish out very tasty curries, frys and vindaloos... slurpppp!!  Later I started making non-veg food at home also, so they could eat once in a while - though major part of my cooking was only veggie stuff.

My husband loves good food and always looked forward to me cooking something special for him.  I never risked grinding idli maavu at home as it was available readymade and I could always blame the shop keeper for not grinding the maavu properly, if the idlis came like stone (haha - easy escapism).  Never ventured to buy a wet grinder because of this also.  Every time I came across a recipe book, I would make up my mind to try something different, but give up even before I started. 

27 years have rolled by, before I started developing an interest in making some tiffin items apart from the usual idli, dosai and chappati (something my husband is not too fond of, though the kids and I love it).  Thanks to my sister-in-law, I finally learnt how to grind idli and appam maavu in the mixie - and I am so happy that the results are superb as the idlis come like 'mallipoo' and the appams like, 'inna maadri cannot tell'!!! 

This experiment tempted me to try out other different items as I got the confidence that I could really do a good job at cooking too.  Couple of weeks ago, there was a recipe in a Tamil magazine on how to make ‘Rawa Idlis’, which I decided to try.  My husband almost fell off his chair when he ate it, as he could not believe, that I could make something that was so close to tasty.’

I decided to take pictures of the procedure the next time I made it and share the procedure in my blog for the benefit of others. 

Though this was written long ago, I actually forgot to publish it and just found it sitting in my draft folder.  Now that I am re-touching up my blog, I decided to publish it with this finishing note..  Hope you will like the dishes I post and try them out too.. Your valuable comments and suggestions are always welcome..

Malida

Malida , also known as Maleeda, is a traditional South Asian sweet dish, made by initially creating a dough out of wheat flour, semolina, ghee and milk followed by the pounding of the dough to create a powdery and sweet mixture. This is usually flavored with nuts such as cashew, pistachios or almonds.

It is a traditional dish in many Muslim feasts and celebrations. It is typically distributed during functions such as an engagement or a wedding. (wikipedia)

As a kid, I remember my grandmother used to make this sweet dish which we used to eat soon after we returned from school in the evening.  Though the above information gives a different method, I am putting on record, the recipe which my grandmother followed.

Ingredients:

2 cups mida

1/2 cup broiled rawa

pinch or two of salt 

milk and water to make dough of the above mixture - chappathi consistency

grated coconut 2 cups mixed with powdered elaichi and sugar to taste

1 tsp oil and 4 to 5 cups to boil the malida in.

Method:

Mix the mida, broiled rawa and salt with milk and water to make a dough - puri consistency.  Allow to sit for 15 minutes.

Grate 2 cups coconut and mix elaichi powder with sugar and keep aside.

Now roll out small balls of the dough to the size of a puri and keep ready.

In a wide thick bottom vessel, bring to boil 4 to 5 cups of water.  Once the water starts to boil, put the puris in the boiling water and allow to cook for a while.  

Once it is done, drain the water, remove and keep in a plate. 

 Fill the centre of the cooked puri with grated coconut mixture (you may add chopped nuts or dry fruits to this mixture also). 

Now roll them and serve hot.  

Rawa Idli

'RAWA IDLI' which serves about 24 idlis and takes about 1/2 hour to prepare (apart from the urud dhal soaking time)

1 measure Rawa

1/2 measure urud dhal - soaked for one hour and ground nicely

1 cup churned curd

3/4 cup water

1 medium sized carrot - grated (optionally you can also add finely cut beans, capsicum, cabbage as per your taste)

2 small green chillies, a small piece of ginger and some curry leaves - finely chopped

Channa dhal and mustard for seasoning

Cashews - cut and roasted

A pinch of baking soda

Salt to taste

3 tsps oil

1.    Soak the urud dhal for one hour and grind well like you would for idli maavu. 

2.    Heat 1 tsp oil in a kadai, add mustard.  When it start popping add the channa dhal and roast till brown. Put the grated carrot, chopped chillies, ginger and curry leaves and saute for a minute.

3.    Add the roasted cashews and mix this with the cup of churned curd.

4.   Now heat 2 tsps of oil and broil the rawa till the colour changes slightly and an aroma fills the air. Allow to cool. 

5.    Blend the urud batter and rawa with the seasoning, adding water till the batter is of idli consistency. 

6.   Once this is done put a pinch of baking soda and salt to taste and mix well.

7.    Keep aside for about 10 minutes. 

8. Now put a small slice of tomato and a cilantro leaf for decoration and pour the batter into the idli plate and steam for about 7 mts. 

9.   Serve hot with coconut chutney or sambar.

Green Mango Rice

Ingredients:
1 cup cooked rice
1 green mango - grated.
1/4 cup cooked black channa
1 tbsp roasted peanuts
3 green chillies slit in 4
1 tbsp channa dhal
1/2 tbsp urud dhal
1 tsp mustard
4 dry red chillies
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
a pinch of asafoetida
2 tbsps seasame oil
one sprig curry leaves
coriander leaves to garnish


Method:

Season mustard, curry leaves, urud dhal, channa dhal, red and green chillies in oil.  Fry for a while till the dhals are roasted.  Then add the roasted peanuts and cooked black channa and fry for a few minutes.  Add turmeric powder,salt and asafoetica along with the grated mango.  Saute for a few minutes.

Once this is done mix with cooked rice.  

Serve with any suitable side dish like okra fry or appalams.